Riders defensive end Eric Norwood to retire at 28

Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive end Eric Norwood has decided to retire from the CFL.

The news was initially reported by Toronto Argonauts defensive lineman Bryan Hall in a Tweet Saturday night and subsequently confirmed by Norwood via text. Hall and Norwood were teammates in Hamilton during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

BREAKING NEWS… Sources are telling me that Eric Norwood @ENorwood40 is retiring from the CFL at 28.

— Bryan Hall (@BryanHall95) December 5, 2016

Norwood played in just two games this season registering one defensive tackle. He suffered a torn ACL in the East Semi-Final game in November of 2014 while still a member of the Tiger-Cats. He was released on May 3, 2016 and signed with the Riders later that same month.

In his three seasons with Hamilton, Norwood amassed 114 tackles and 24 sacks in 42 games. His best year came in 2014 when he appeared in 15 games and had 13 sacks on his way to being named an East Division all-star.

Norwood is just 28-years-old so his retirement comes as something of a surprise. He was under contract with the Riders for next season.

“Just time for me to get out the game,” Norwood said. “I had a good run with it but it’s not worth the damage to my body in the long run.”